2010

The team traditionally goes out in to our operational area on Boxing Day afternoon, and today with seventeen Call Out list members / Probationary members present, we decided to take advantage of the snow on the hills, and with no calls on the team, we all met at the base of Rivington Pike and spent a fun afternoon sledging on the (very!) steep parts of Rivington Pike itself.

One of our old basket stretchers made an excellent sledge, with members of the public begging us to have a go on it (and a fun time they had too), all seventeen members present survived the afternoons sledging unscathed including our Team Leader on his Plastic “It’s been in the family for donkeys years” ’Turbo Sledge.’

On the descent back from Rivington Pike to our four team vehicles, team member, 21 year old Matthew Hailwood couldn’t resist one last sledge ride down, unfortunately he also couldn’t miss the vertical drop in front of him, and he very quickly became our fifth sledging incident since Saturday 18th December 2010!

Happening at 15.10hrs in very cold minus four temperatures, and with limited daylight left, we immediately requested an Emergency Ambulance from NWAS (Manchester) Control and also requested, if available, the NWAA Helimed.

In considerable pain, Matthew had suffered a potentially serious lower back injury, and was given Entonox pain killing gas, whilst we stretcher evacuated him lower down the hill and awaited the arrival of Helimed 08.

At circa 15.53hrs in rapidly failing light, the NWAA Air Ambulance Helicopter ’Helimed 08’ managed to land almost next to Matthew, in the vicinity of the ’New Toilet Block’ on Georges Lane at the base of Rivington Pike.

A quick handover to the Helimed crew, saw ’Helimed 08’ take off at 16.04hrs for a short five minute flight to Preston Royal Infirmary.

Matthew spent some hours in Royal Preston, being X rayed and examined, thankfully with the diagnosis of nothing serious other than very severe and painful bruising.

He was released from hospital later the same evening, being collected by his relieved parents. (Matthew has only just recovered from a fractured wrist!)

The team would like to thanks NWAS (Manchester) Control for their help with this incident, the crew of the NWAS (Manchester) Emergency Ambulance on standby if Helimed could not have attended, and the pilot and crew of the NWAA ’Helimed 08’ who kindly flew in to assist us with ’one of our own.’

At 16:03 this afternoon, the team was contacted by NWAS (Manchester), requesting our assistance at a sledging incident in the vicinity of Jumbles Reservoir, north of Bolton.

The call was answered by experienced team member Mike Marsh, who promptly called out the rest of the team to assist at 16:13.

A 13 year old male had suffered a lower back injury whilst sledging on the southern embankments of Jumbles reservoir, with the main car park inaccessible to the NWAS ambulance (or more accurately, possible to drive in to, but most likely impossible to drive out of, due to the gradient of the road and the prevailing snow and ice).

The first Bolton MRT members arrived on scene at 16:25, and assisted the NWAS crew in recovering the injured boy to the top of the embankment, and then to the main Jumbles car park.

By this point, two team LandRover Ambulances arrived having responded from our Ladybridge Hall Base/HQ, and the casualty was promptly loaded into our BM1 vehicle and carefully driven to the main road where he was transferred into the waiting NWAS ambulance, for onward transport to Royal Bolton Hospital.

In total, 14 team members attended this incident, with an additional three team members stood down whilst responding. Team vehicles then made their way back to base, with the incident concluded by 17:45.

NWAS (Manchester) resources involved a RRV (Solo crewed) and an Emergency Ambulance.

At just after 15.30hrs a 999 call was made concerning a 12 year old boy from Edgworth, who had injured himself in a sledging accident on the snow covered slopes above Wayoh Reservoir.

NWAS (Manchester) Control paged the team for assistance at 15.38hrs, co-incidentally our Team Leader and Training Officer had both arrived at our Ladybridge Hall Base / HQ just before the pager call, to carry out some team admin work, so were able to make an immediate response.

At 15.45hrs a fully detailed full team call out page was made, with all four Team Land Rover MR Ambulance vehicles responding.

Our first team member, Neil Warburton, arrived at the Harbour Lane, Edgworth, RVP at 16.08hrs, just minutes after the NWAS (Manchester) RRV and Emergency Ambulance had arrived.

Our first team vehicle, BM3, arrived on scene at 16.17hrs, and a small party of the first team members to arrive, first donned crampons, then with help from some other sledgers and locals, were directed to the incident location itself, where upon arrival they liaised with the RRV Paramedic.

Other sledgers and locals had done a fantastic job of keeping the injured boy warm and comforted, in the minus four temperature, dropping even more with the rapid onset of darkness.

The boy had collided with a timber fence at some speed according to witnesses, sustaining a suspected pelvis / top of femur injury.

Team members working with the RRV Paramedic, splinted the boys leg with a specialist MR vacuum splint and then carefully ’packaged’ the boy up in a full length vacuum mattress splint.

Throughout the boy who was in considerable pain, had the use of pain killing gas. (Entonox)

The injured boy (with his father now in attendance) was then placed on a Troll Alphin Mountain Rescue Stretcher and sledged uphill in the stretcher, commencing at 17.03hrs, to the awaiting NWAS (Manchester) Emergency Ambulance on Harbour Lane, Edgworth.

By 17.15hrs he was safely in the warmth of the ambulance where further examinations could take place of his injuries.

Around 17.30hrs the NWAS Ambulance departed with the boy for Royal Bolton Hospital.

In total fifteen Bolton MRT members attended this incident, in four Team Land Rover MR Ambulances, a further three team members were stood down deploying.

From NWAS (Manchester) came an RRV (Solo crewed) and an Emergency Ambulance.

Yet again we had excellent updates and guidance from our friends at NWAS (Manchester) Belle Vue Control.

Special mention must be made of the residents at the end of Harbour Lane, which even without snow is a narrow lane, for allowing us without hesitation to park our team vehicles and members vehicles across their driveways and in one case to park within their property, thanks also to the same residents for putting up with all our disturbance to their normally quiet late afternoon.

This is the teams third call to a sledging accident since the first one attended on Saturday evening December 18th 2010.